Alabama

Bolton: Time for a primer on the good 'ol possum

An opossum can be a scary sight.When I was about 8 years old, my dad's friend told me a hilarious story about an opossum. I told and retold that story for years. It was a little disheartening in later years when I learned that the story, as well as many others he had told me, was only an urban legend.

My dad's friend claimed that he and friends had been on a road trip when they encountered a possum crossing the highway. One had jumped out and grabbed it by the tail and tossed it into the bed of the pickup truck.

Once they arrived at their motel, they let the animal loose in the room. They called the front desk and reported that there was a mouse under the bed. The manager arrived, dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. The "mouse" had shown his teeth, hissed and the manager went screaming from the room.

Hey, that's pretty funny when you are 8 years old.

From time to time I receive calls and e-mails from homeowners who have had real encounters with opossums in their new lives in urban Alabama. Because of the opossum's rat-like look and mouth full of menacing teeth, the encounters have often produced great terror.

For the record, the opossum is pretty harmless. It does have 50 teeth, the most of any mammal, but it is not aggressive. That cute little raccoon you might be tempted to pet will gnaw a hand off. An opossum will merely show his teeth and hiss. If that doesn't scare away the possible threat, it will emit a very foul odor similar to a skunk and then fall over and fake death. That's where we get the term "playing possum."

In suburban areas, opossums often take up residence in crawl spaces under homes that are built on foundations. They are also good climbers and will make their way into attics. Imagine taking the Christmas decorations up to the attic and encountering an opossum. Our homes make good homes for them. Their living quarters and garbage cans where they can eat are usually only a short distance apart.

Opossums also love dog and cat food. A solution to that problem is feeding pets during the day when opossums aren't active and removing the food at night when opossums are active.

The good news is that opossums aren't too bright. While a raccoon or squirrel in the attic or under a house often laughs at humane traps, an opossum can easily be caught without hiring pest control personnel. A humane trap purchased from a hardware store and baited with about anything edible will catch an opossum.

Opossums are interesting creatures. They are the only marsupials native to North America. Females give birth to two litters a year. They give birth just 13 days after mating. That's the shortest gestation period of all mammals, and their offspring are just a half-inch long. That's one of the smallest mammals born. The offspring stay in the mom's pouch for about two months before seeing the world.

Some people who have spent much of their lives in the vicinity of opossums claim that they have no useful purpose, but that isn't so. They can be very valuable should you ever get lost in the woods.

In that event, find a stump, sit on it and wait for an opossum to meander by. Then follow it out to the middle of the road.